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Rather than your opinion of the other forumer's posts, I'm thinking the OP might be more interested in the names of the companies that hired your friends and if they are in Charlotte.
OK Chicken Little.
I'm not going to list all the smaller companies because I don't want a flood of people contacting them. I'm sure you will have something negative to say, but other people may actually reach out to some of these and I prefer not to be too specific. I like my anonymity on the internet.
To the poster that inquired, like I said. Do your best to network. Go to user group meeting in the area. Talk to people. Volunteer. Join a meet up group in your interest area. Attend lectures and talks at various companies or at the local university. Jobs are out there. Thousands of folks are immigrating to Charlotte from overseas each year for these jobs. And I promise you that not all those folks have years of experience . Some are students like you and are just starting out. If they can find employment, so can you! ETA: And one of the main ways people find out about jobs is what?? Networking. Then once you are employed, be sure to share opportunities with those that you know.
TiaaCreff(hired a ton of students from UNCC this summer)
Wells
BofA
Duke
A SpeedChannel vendor
A local printing house
Hartford
2 different consulting gigs uptown and 1 software vendor
CMC
Private k-8 school
Vanguard
.... I'm sure you will have something negative to say, but other people may actually reach out to some of these and I prefer not to be too specific. I like my anonymity on the internet. .....
You reap the negative comments by calling people names you don't like. "naysayers" and "chicken little", being examples. You don't add credibility to your posts by attempting first to question the credibility of others, and you invite commentary.
I do think that anyone checking for a job in Charlotte should investigate your list, that being the Finance Industry and public school system as places that might be looking for IT workers. They hire alot, they fire alot. IT jos in any of them is tough, right now, IMO but nobody says don't check. The remaining nameless places and consulting, really doesn't do much to prove the rest of us as being naysayers.
So,my question to anybody at all who has info,what is the job market like in Charlotte/surrounding towns (Concord,Gastonia,Mooresville,Etc.) for IT professionals? Also,with me being long distance now,what would be the best and most effective way to begin developing contacts and networking?
My recommendation if you still have time for it, is to enroll in your school's co-op program if there is one. When I was reviewing resumes for technical work, previous relevant work experience, always counted the most. It would usually mean the difference between getting a follow-up interview or not. If this isn't something that you can do, then check to see if you can get summer intern work at a relevant company. Your school should have a list of companies they work with in this regard so take advantage of it.
If it is not too late in your educational career, consider shifting your focus from networking to application development, software engineering or database analysis/administration and you will probably have an easier time finding work in this area. Get your feet wet in IT by volunteering on open source projects in any capacity. Work on building up your skill set with the hot technologies of the moment (Java, Spring, Hibernate, Oracle, SQL Server, Informatica). Don't put anything on your resume that you aren't able to back up. Don't worry about getting any certs for now, as they are generally useless without relevant experience.
Don't expect to get paid a lot in your first few years. Strongly consider taking a contractor position at relatively low pay (~$25 - $30/hr) if you can afford to. Remember that you are competing against H1s and offshore for those entry level positions. You may even consider looking for jobs in QA. Testing sucks, but it is a part of every IT position and a very common entry point. You need to start building up a reputation as someone who is competent, reliable and flexible. Be prepared to wear many hats in your career and you should go far.
All of this is assuming you will be graduating with a BS in Comp Sci. An associates or less will not get you far around here, unless you have years of experience in addition to the degree.
Per the above referenced article, it may be worth taking your efforts to cities that are currently in high demand for IT professionals. The article interviewed a Cleveland based recruiter:
Quote:
"Workers who are strong in tech skills might be solicited for three or four positions at a time," says Jack Cullen, president of Modis, an IT staffing and recruiting firm. The industries that are hiring the most tech workers are retail, insurance, media, pharmaceutical, and financial services, he says.
The problem is that there are few IT jobs and a huge talent pool. Supply vs Demand. I have friends with decades of experience that cannot find a job.
At one of the banks there was an internal only position (meaning if you don't work there you cannot apply) and in the first 2 days they had over one hundred applications - mostly from people laid off. And the layoffs are not done.
People who were Directors and Managers are taking hands on work. A friend of mine had a Jr Networking job open, he filled it with a guy who had almost 10 years of experience.
Right now is a really REALLY tough job market. I agree on the internship idea and if you get one work your rear off.
Quit limiting your search just to N. Carolina. I have had to move to 3 different states in the last 4 years for decent IT work and salary. Internship? Who would do this? Wake up and quit giving lame advice like internship. Companies only offer internships because they are cheapskates. I would work at WalMart before an internship with some craphole companies IT dept. Here is good advice, start reading the business section of different cities newspapers and see who is moving where or opening new data centers around the country. Microsoft and HP are hiring in Des Moines, Iowa, Amazon is hiring in Kansas and Indiana Those are 3 great companies to work for. Think out of the box. Your box seems to be N.C. and that is very limiting. No excuses to have to stay there. Don't use the I own a home here, or my wife works here, blah blah blah. Get off your butt and get out of N.C. if there is no decent IT jobs. Being out of the industry for a couple of years because you still had the bib and the baby bottle going on looks really pathetic on a resume and sounds horrible in any interview.
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